wind power - next level

WIND POWER - NEXT LEVEL
OUR WORLD NEEDS MORE (WIND) ENERGY
Our world needs more energy. Global energy demand will double in the next 20 years.
Our current energy sources, such as oil, coal, gas and even uranium, are simply not enough
to satisfy this need.
The result of this will be rising energy prices and a gap in the planned supply of energy,
which will have to be closed with the help of renewable sources.
Here is where the use of wind energy is regarded as one of the most attractive technologies.
After all, we have a nearly unlimited supply of wind energy almost everywhere in the world
that is relatively inexpensive to exploit.
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Solar Power
Average solar radiation in
Central Europe: 115 W/m2
Conventional wind power
Average specific wind power
over land: 700 W/m2
Conventional wind power
Average specific wind power at 70m
over the North Sea: 1,000 W/m2
High altitude wind power
Average specific wind power at 400m
over the North Sea: 1,800 W/m2
SKYSAILS POWER –
THE NEXT GENERATION OF WIND POWER
"There is enough energy in high altitude wind
to power civilization 100 times over."
Professor Ken Caldeira - Department of Global Ecology,
Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford University
The use of energy-rich high-altitude winds represents the next generation of wind power.
Too often there is not enough land available to construct wind power generation facilities
to accommodate the rising demand, particularly in those regions with the greatest energy
needs. Even offshore – on the seas – space is limited. This is because it is not cost effective to
install conventional wind turbines at depths beyond about 40 meters.
Therefore, and if we are ever to meet future energy needs, a new generation of wind power
systems must be developed that can produce more energy on whatever space is available
and/or can be installed in those areas that have not previously been usable. These include
for example offshore regions that are up to several hundred meters deep.
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It’s a simple fact: Winds at high altitudes provide abundantly more energy than winds at
surface level.
Large and fully automated kites are the key technology through which energy can be generated from high-altitude winds.
Building on the proven SkySails technology, SkySails Power is developing wind power
systems that for the first time can be used to tap into the enormous energy potential of highaltitude winds on an industrial scale, so-called high-altitude wind energy systems.
SkySails wind propulsion for cargo ships
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Kite with rope
Launch & recovery system
Power Phase
Generator
Return Phase
Automated
Control System
Support platform
A COMPELLING TECHNOLOGY
Energy is generated as the kite pulls the rope from a drum that is connected to an electric
power generator. This is the power phase in which electrical power is produced.
The worldwide patented SkySails Power system consists of five main components: a free
flying kite with rope, a launch and recovery system, an automated control system, a generator
for producing electrical power and a support platform.
The return phase begins once the rope has been extended to its maximum length. The kite
is then automatically flown into a position where its pulling force is very low. This is when
the generator acts as a motor and reels in the rope until its extended length is short enough
for the next energy-generation phase to begin. This process consumes only a fraction of the
power generated during the power phase. The residual excess energy is fed into the electrical
power grid.
The SkySails Power system is operated at altitudes of between 200 and 800 meters. It
can be installed on both conventional offshore foundations and on floating platforms. That
way the SkySails Power system can also be secured quickly and easily at water depths of
down to 700 meters using traditional anchoring technologies and readily available offshore
support vessels.
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The SkySails Power system can also be utilized onshore. Mobile units are also available
that can be used as stand-alone solutions to provide electricity and/or fresh water through
seawater desalination.
SkySails Power
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MAJOR BENEFITS
Cheap wind power
The fact that the SkySails Power system uses high-altitude winds means that it can generate more energy
than comparable offshore wind turbine systems. This in turn makes generating wind power cheaper,
which for operators translates into much greater profitability.
Virtually unlimited space availability
The SkySails Power system floats. This means that it can also be employed in places where extremely deep
water would make it uneconomical to install conventional offshore wind turbines. This allows the many
high-wind areas, particularly in Europe, North America or for example Japan, to be exploited, which
are inaccessible to conventional wind turbine systems. This also includes hurricane and typhoon regions
where conventional systems cannot be installed since such extreme weather systems would simply destroy
them. The kite of the SkySails Power system, on the other hand, can be retracted and survive hurricanes
and typhoons.
Easy maintenance
SkySails Power system's compact and modular construction makes servicing and maintaining the system
much simpler. When services are required, the entire system can be exchanged with a replacement
system and brought to a nearby port for maintenance or repairs. This ability to replace components or
entire systems reduces downtimes to an absolute minimum.
Rapid availability
The SkySails Power system’s small size makes mass production easy. This kind of availability combined
with the ease and speed of installing the SkySails Power system, means that major wind farms can be
constructed in a very short period of time. Wind farm operators benefit from a lower capital commitment
due to the shortened construction phase.
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PROVEN TECHNOLOGY BASE
ENERGIZE YOUR PROJECTS
SkySails Power technology is based on the acclaimed SkySails propulsion system for ships.
SkySails Power’s planned product program starts with systems having a
capacity of from 1 to 3.5 megawatts for stationary use, and mobile systems of
from 250 kilowatts to 1 megawatt.
This worldwide patented towing kite propulsion system for cargo ships has been proven and
tested in the tough day-to-day use on board seagoing vessels. In good wind conditions, it can
replace up to 2 megawatts of power from the main engine, which allows ships to save up to
10 tons of oil a day.
Talk to us today about the projects you are planning.
We look forward to helping you make them a success:
SkySails is the only company in the world that now offers industrial products for using those
particularly abundant high-altitude winds. Its customers include respected shipping companies and major international corporations.
Stephan Wrage
CEO
SkySails GmbH promotes and maintains longstanding development partnerships with leading
SkySails GmbH
Phone: +49 40 702 99-0
E-mail: [email protected]
suppliers, such as with DSM Dyneema and Gleistein Ropes for producing the ropes and
NorthSails NZ for manufacturing the towing kites.
SkySails Power draws on the many years of experience that SkySails GmbH has acquired
in the daily use of towing kites on the high seas. SkySails Power also benefits from the company’s broad and global patent portfolio that includes some 300 patents issued or applied
for, in 16 patent famlilies.
Stephan Brabeck
CTO
SkySails GmbH
Phone: +49 40 702 99-0
E-mail: [email protected]
SkySails enjoys a level of expertise in exploiting high-altitude winds that is unequaled in the
world.
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SkySails GmbH
Veritaskai 3
21079 Hamburg - Germany
Phone: +49 40 702 99-0
Fax: +49 40 702 99 – 333
E-mail: [email protected]
www.skysails-power.com